Unlike many people in the spiritual field, I am a big supporter of having New Year’s resolutions. Yes, I still believe that our main purpose should be to be the presence of love, stay true to ourselves, and live life authentically. However, I also believe that we live in a world of action, where in order to follow our purpose and live the life we aspire to, we need to get things done!

What’s important then, is finding the sweet spot between spirituality and business – where the resolutions we make, and the action we take come from that inspired state of being in alignment with love.

I am someone who struggled a lot with making and keeping New Year’s resolutions. Like many people, I’ve started several Januaries with lists upon lists of commitments for the year, only to become overwhelmed and give up by February. Thankfully, trial and error (as well as some precious guidance from the angels) has helped me carve out a formula for making new year’s resolutions, that actually works!

1. Blurt it all out: Brainstorm all the things you need and want to do in the coming year. Spend at least 15 minutes going through every single area of your life and write in as much specificity as you can, all that you want to accomplish in the coming year. The reason all those past resolution lists ended up in the trash is because they weren’t actual resolutions. They were simply the first step to the process!
2. Give yourself some tough love: Go through every goal in your epic list and ask yourself: Will I really be able to achieve this over the year? Be brutally honest with yourself and shorten your list to a more realistic one. As harsh as this may sound, you will not be able to achieve everything you detailed in your brainstorming session. This is simply because you are not a machine. You are a human being who, apart from getting things done, needs to feel, relax, have fun, and be totally unproductive when he/she needs to.
3. Proclaim it to the world: When you’ve got your final set of resolutions, proclaim them to your friends and family. As humans, we have the need to be consistent with our commitments. People who don’t walk their talk are perceived to be frail and untrustworthy by other people. Therefore, by taking advantage of this human trait and making a public commitment to following your resolutions, you will keep yourself accountable to others, and to yourself.
4. Schedule it: Take a one-page calendar of the New Year and give yourself deadlines for all your resolutions. Scheduling things down is also a technique for activating your need for consistency. When you write things down you give them agency. They are no longer illusory ideas in your head; they are actual words on a piece of paper (or screen) that urge you to do something about them. Sharing your calendar with your friends, family, or even on Facebook and other social media sites, will add an extra dose of motivation that will keep you accountable to following through.

If you want to take this to the next level, post your new year’s resolutions in the comments below, and let all the people who read this article (myself included) keep you accountable for them.

I wish you a loving and productive 2015! 🙂